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By now you should have prepared your responses to the reasons for the denial of benefits. The DRO hearing is a very relaxed affair and nothing to be afraid to attend. The DRO will lead the meeting and may ask you questions concerning your claim and or evidence. You have the opportunity to just speak your view concerning your claims. The VSO is there to help you make sure you present all the info available that can help your claim. This is just my opinion, but if you did your homework then you will do fine. Here are a couple of my prepared statements I used for my DRO hearing. They were 100% successful. I did not use ny VSO for my DRO hearing. Right foot Shrapnel-10% + 10%-final.pdf PTSD Local appeal-ok for publish.pdf Good Luck! NSA-Saigon-ET

Hi Carlie, I just read about your great news and wish to add my congratulations for your success! I too am just coming back to earth from my similar award last month so I can definitely relate. I just had my ID card made and have been shopping at the Nellis AFB commissary! It is a good feeling to be covered no matter what happens in the future. NSA-Saigon-ET

Here is what I found for IHD. I am not a doctor so cannot comment but if it fits in here then you may have something to claim. "According to Harrison's Principles of InternalMedicine (Harrison's Online, Chapter 237, Ischemic Heart Disease, 2008), IHD is acondition in which there is an inadequate supply of blood and oxygento a portion of the myocardium; it typically occurs when there is animbalance between myocardial oxygen supply and demand. Therefore, forpurposes of this regulation, the term ``IHD'' includes, but is notlimited to, acute, subacute, and old myocardial infarction;atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease(including coronary spasm) and coronary bypass surgery; and stable,unstable and Prinzmetal's angina. Since the term refers only to heartdisease, it does not include hypertension or peripheral manifestationsof arteriosclerosis such as peripheral vascular disease orstroke. NSA-Saigon-ET

BTW, I am a Nehmer FootNote 1 awardee. I studied the Nehmer training guide when it was published. I remember posting my issues and questions to this forum and received much negative response from most members. One of the elders even stated that I was beating a dead horse! I especially remember trying to get an elder to understand my reasons and even stated that I would try again to explain. The response at that time was that they had no intention of trying again. I stood my ground and was awarded my claim under footnote1 which gave me an additional 5 years of retro pay. My postings trying to help others are based on first hand knowledge of the issues involved. NSA-Saigon-ET

So have you received a decision yet on your Nehmer claim? I remember you filed for CUE after your husband passed stating that the VA failed to diagnosis /treat your husband for IHD. Was that CUE finalized? Just curious. NSA-Saigon-ET

Well, I believe Berta is wrong on your issue. Foot note 1 is for those vietnam vets who filed previous for AO/IHD andhad a diagnosis of IHD, but were denied SC. You did not have a clear diagnosis of IHD accoeding tot he info you posted until maybe now. You can still file for AO/IHD if you get the correct diagnosis this time around. NSA-Saigon-ET

I read the C & P report and it is confusing at one point. She has a section there which states rule out PTSd and then she goes ahead and checks the boxes for PTSD. It looks like she has confused two separate C & P exams for two different Veterans. However, in the end she selects a PTSD category for severity which matches your symptoms. Occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity due to such symptoms as: flattened affect; circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech; panic attacks more than once a week; difficulty in understanding complex commands; impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks); impaired judgment; impaired abstract thinking; disturbances of motivation and mood; difficulty in establishing and maintaining Effective work and social relationships ………………..50% This is copied from the rating criteria and matches your report. My guess is a 50% rating at this point. Good Luck! NSA-Saigon-ET

Your DRO is assigned your case and will keep it until it is finished. If he ordered a C & P then fine. The doctor who administers the C & P has a strict form to fill out based upon your responses to the questions. The correct procedure will take about 1 1/2 -2 hours to complete. It is obvious to your benefit to try and stay calm and pleasant during the interview. If you have PTSD it will become apparent to the doctor and your responses should allow the doctor tot select the correct level or severity to match you condition. The key here is to get the rating and you can always update a bad C & P . The DRO is not a doctor and does make any diagnosis. He or she will make the final decision based on all the evidence available. Good Luck! NSA-Saigon-ET

Ok, sorry I can't help you. Good Luck! NSA-Saigon-ET

All your issues have been handled correctly. The BVA is trying to help you on a question that goes back to the original 1993 filing and decision in 1994. That is the issue of TDIU. Normally you cannot get TDIU with only a 10% rating, except in extraordinary situations. Yours is one of these since you havren't worked all you life due toi whatever reasons. That is the issue raised by the VBA in your claim. They dismissed you CUE as being filed improperly as this issue is considered an open claim for TDIU. They want the RO to make an investigastion and decision. Then it goes back to a the BVA for completion. Of course they will give you time to comment on the decision before it goes back tot he BVA. From what I can see on this the BVA ius really trying to help you in every way possible. The open issue is were you qualified due to special conditions to be awarded TDIU from 1993 -2001 even though you only had a 10% rating back then. You were awarded the TDIU in 2001 since they raised you rating to 60% in that decision and you were then qualified to be awarded TDIU. I hope that helps you . NSA-Saigon-ET

Once again, from what I read from the BVA decision it states that the RO must make a decision on your employability from 1994 and to stat etheir reasons if it goes against you, then the claim goes back to the court after you have a chanced to comment. NSA-Saigon-ET

Yes that sounds right , but all you need to do is read the decisionfrom your DRO. It should state the award and the effective date. What does the DRO decision state? NSA-Saigon-ET

I have no clue as to what you are asking. Could you try to post a clear question or maybe others can figure out what it is you are seeking. NSA-Saigon-ET

Here is the link to the second document. http://www.va.gov/ve...es6/0947890.txt It states you have been awarded a 20% for left elbow disability from 1994 thru 2001. It goes on to state the remand already posted and to send the the results back to the court after you have an opportunity to review and add any comments if needed. Good Luck! NSA-Saigon-ET

I just finished reading this document. They dismissed your CUE claim. their reason was that you had a open claim and cannot file for a CUE when there are unresolved issues still in the VA process. They did order a remand back to the RO to determine if your claim for TDIU back to 1994 was warranted or whether you could have been working at some job inspite of your disabilities. They want the RO rater to make a decision on the issue and if against you to provide their reasons. then they want the case returned to the Court. I believe that was what I understood from the document. NSA-Saigon-ET